As one of the fastest growing furniture markets, Poland has risen from 10th to 6th in the production value of furniture sold worldwide. The country is also one of the largest exporters of furniture - third in Europe and fourth in the world.
Furniture industry is a vital sector in the Polish economy. It contributes as much as 2.17 percent of Polish GDP, whereas average for EU countries is 0.55 percent. According to the KPMG report, "Furniture market in Poland 2017", the value of furniture production in our country amounted to PLN 42 billion.
In 2015, Poland's share in the entire furniture exports of the EU (EU-28) was as high as 16.8 percent. The largest selling markets are Germany (36 percent of exports production), the UK (8 percent) and Czech Republic (7 percent).
The interest of Polish companies comes from limited purchasing power in the domestic market - the average amount spent on furniture per household in the last three years was PLN 4.5 thousand. In comparison, according to Business Insider Intelligence estimates, people in the US have spent $38 billion (PLN 135 billion) on furniture - just from the online market. This means that furniture e-commerce in the United States has a turnover over three times higher than all of Polish furniture trade.
One of the most concerning challenges related to international expansion is organising the logistics: this is the crowning moment of the purchasing process in e-commerce. However, before the first sofa or bookshelf can leave Poland to reach their new customers, the company must be aware of an enormous amount of organisational work involved.
Transportation is one of the bottlenecks in the case of online purchasing of expensive goods like furniture. However, it can become another tool for building a competitive advantage. White gloves delivery is becoming more common, including transport and comprehensive service such as assembling new furniture and removal of the old one. Thus the element, which previously had been a strong deterrent for users, becomes another area for customer excellence.
A company wanting to make its name in cross-border trade should be able to answer many questions. Does it make more sense to create a new brand, or continue selling under the old one? How will the new market change operational processes? How do you reorganise the company with new challenges in mind? For the furniture industry companies wanting to take advantage of e-commerce, e-point has prepared a report on Customer Journey (Polish language version only).
This report is also a comprehensive response to the question: "How do furniture industry customers purchase online?" and "how their purchasing habits can be used?" E-commerce is currently one of the most developed sectors of the global economy. That is why companies wanting to operate in this channel as well, should be supported by an experienced business partner. This will help save time and money and the sooner they get on the rushing e-commerce train, the more they can earn in a long run.